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This book could be a bit of a game changer. Lots of useful ideas, many of which seem manageable and inspired. The author is a bit full of himself though in my opinion. Lots of exclamation marks, capital letters, acknowledgments, testimonials and pleas to support him through social media. That aside, there's plenty of stuff to work with, so let's get cracking!
"Miracles do not happen in contradiction with nature, but in contradiction with what we know about nature" - Saint Augustine
One must begin with accepting total responsibility for every aspect of your life and REFUSING (Sorry Caps!) to blame anyone else. Even shitty tenants. Don't blame them! Take responsibility.
This book builds three arguments:
1) You are just as worthy, deserving, and capable of creating and sustaining extraordinary health, wealth, happiness, love, and success in your life, as any other person on earth.
2) You must dedicate time each day to becoming the person you need to be, one who is qualified and capable of consistently attracting, creating, and sustaining the levels of success you want.
3) How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your levels of success in every single area of your life. By simply changing the way you wake up, you can transform yourself faster than you ever thought possible.
How you spend the first hour of your day becomes the key to unlocking your full potential and creating the levels of success you desire. Your level of success, will rarely exceed your level of person development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.
"We all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that make us happy. But we don't do those things. Why? Simple. We are too busy. Too busy doing what? Too busy trying to be happy." - Matthew Kelly.
Read the 'self-confidence' affirmation from Think and Grow Rich aloud.
STEP 1 : Acknowledge the 95% reality check.
Here are three simple, yet decisive steps to rise above the mediocrity and join the top 5% :
1) Physical. Fatal diseases and obesity continue to rise. The average person is exhausted without drinking several cups of coffee a day.
2) Mental and Emotional. More people are on prescription drugs than ever before.
3) Relationships. There is an epidemic of divorce in Europe and USA.
4) Financial. The personal debt of Americans and Europeans is greater than ever before.
STEP 2 : Identify the causes of mediocrity.
We want to love the people we we get to share life and work with. That's success. That kind of life doesn't just happen. It must be designed. If you want to live an extraordinary life you must identify the causes of mediocrity so you can prevent them from robbing you of the life you want.
The causes of Mediocrity (and Solutions):
1) Rear View Mirror Syndrome . We mistakenly believe that who we were is who we are, thus limiting our true potential in the present. We filter every choice we make - from what time we will wake up in the morning to which goals we will set to what we allow ourselves to consider possible for our lives - through the limitation of past experiences. We want to create a better life, but sometimes we don't know how to see it any other way than how it's always been.
When presented with opportunities, we quickly check our rear-view mirror to assess our past capabilities. Stop it and start imagining a life of limitless possibilities. Accept the paradigm : my past does not equal my future.
Don't place unnecessary limitations on what you want for life. Think bigger than you've allowed yourself to think up until this point. Get clear on what you truly want, condition yourself to the belief that it's possible by focusing on and affirming it every day, and then consistently move in the direction of your vision until it becomes your reality. There is nothing to fear, because you cannot fail - only learn, grown and become better that you've ever been before.
2) Lack of Purpose. You need a life purpose. It can be anything that resonates with and inspires you to wake up every day. Just remember that you can choose anything, and the first one can be something simple or small. (e.g. 'I'm going to smile more so that I can bring a little more happiness into my life and to those around me.' Or, 'I'm going to ask every person I meet what I can do to help them, so that I can add value to more people's lives.') It will be your first step towards a bigger life purpose.
3) Isolating Incidents. Thus happens when we assume that our choices or actions only affect that particular moment. For example, you may think it's no big deal to miss a workout, procrastinate on a project, or eat fast food because you'll get a 'do-over' tomorrow. You make the mistake of thinking that skipping that workout only affects that incident, and you'll make a better choice next time.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Every single thought, choice and action is determining who we are becoming. How you do anything is how you do everything.
4) Lack of accountability. Accountability is the act of being responsible to someone else for some action or result. The reality is that, statistically, 95% of people that any read any book don't implement what they learn, because no one is holding them accountable to do so. There is a way to change that.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED : GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
You can post a message on your Facebook wall, or to the highly supportive members of The Miracle Morning Community at www.MiracleMorning.com/resources. You might post something like : 'I'm looking for someone who wants to improve their life to be my accountability partner for The Miracle Morning 30-day Life Transformation Challenge. Check out www.MiracleMorning.com and let me know if you are interested.' Keep in mind that anyone who responds to this is the type of person you want to have in your circle of influence!
5) Mediocre Circle of Influence. Research has shown that we become like the average of the five people we spend the most time with. If you are surrounded with lazy, weak-minded, excuse-making people, you'll inevitably become like them.
Seek out people who believe in you, admire you, and can help you get where you want to go in life.
You can join an online community such as Meetup.com where you can connect with like-minded people. You can also start your own group there.
6) Lack of personal development. Remember that our levels of success will rarely exceed our levels of personal development (i.e. your knowledge, skills, beliefs, habits, etc.), because success is something we attract by who we become.
7) Lack of Urgency. Most people have no sense of urgency to improve themselves. Human nature is to live with a 'someday' mindset and think that life will work itself out. Unfortunately this leads to a life if procrastination, unfulfilled potential and regret. Today matters more than any other day in your life.
STEP 3 : Draw your line in the sand.
Make a decision as to what you are going to start doing differently from this day forward. Not tomorrow, not next week, or next month. Your entire life changes the day that you decide you will no longer accept mediocrity for yourself. Mediocre days turn into weeks and weeks into months.
As Robin Sharma said : 'One of the saddest things in life is to get to the end and look back in regret, knowing that you could have been, done, and had so much more.'
Why did YOU wake up this morning?
When you delay waking up until you have to - meaning you wait until the last possible moment to get out of bed and start your day - consider that what you're actually doing is resisting your life. "Oh no, it's time already. I have to wake up. I don't want to wake up." It's as if you're saying, "I don't want to live my life, at least not to the fullest."
"If you really think about it, hitting the snooze button in the morning doesn't even make sense. It's like saying 'I hate getting up in the morning, so I do it over, and over, and over again'" - Demetri Martin.
Think about the kind of negative energy that surrounds you when you being your day with resistance.
Some people feel this way due to depression and its ability to weigh on a person's mind, emotions, and heart without needing a specific reason. But to combat depression you need to push through. Get up!
I've got to ask you : When are you gong to develop yourself into the person you need to be to create the levels of health, wealth, happiness, success and freedom that you truly want and deserve? When are you going to actually live your life instead of numbly going through the motions looking for every possible distraction to escape reality? What if your reality - your life - could finally be something that you can't wait to be conscious for?
How much sleep do we really need?
There is no magic number. Everyone is different. It's usually between 7 and 9 hours.
How to wake up with more energy (on less sleep)
I've found that how our sleep affects our biology is largely affected by our own personal belief about how much sleep we need. In other words, how we feel when we wake up in the morning - and this is a very important distinction - is not solely based on how many hours of sleep we got, but significantly impacted by how we told ourselves we were going to feel when we woke up.
Don't tell yourself "Geez, I'm only going to get 6 hours of sleep tonight, but I need 8. I'm going to feel exhausted in the morning."
This is a self-fulfilling, self-sabotaging prophecy. If you tell yourself you're going to feel tired in the morning, then you are absolutely going to feel tired.
I made an experiment with sleep durations going from 9 hours to 4 hours. I recited a bedtime affirmation and told myself that I was going to wake up feeling energized in the morning :
"Thank you for giving me these 5 hours of sleep tonight. 5 hours is exactly what I need to feel rested and energized. My body us capable of miraculous things, the least of which is generating an abundance of energy from 5 hours of restful sleep. I believe that I create my experience of reality, and I choose to create waking up tomorrow feeling energized and excited to take on my day, and I'm grateful for that."
Think back to a time when you were genuinely excited to wake up in the morning. Christmas morning when you were a kid? That is the kind of mindset you need to get into.
SIX STEP SNOOZE PROOF STRATEGY
It's been said that nobody actually likes waking up early, but everyone loves the feeling of having woken up early. So just do it, don't think about it. Don't read it bed when you wake up. Get up first.
(1) Set your intentions before bed. (The most important step)
The key is to consciously decide every night to actively and mindfully create a positive expectation for the next morning. For help on this and to get the precise words to say before bed to create your powerful intentions, download the 'Miracle Morning Bedtime Affirmations' for free at www.MiracleMorning.com/resources.
(2) Move your alarm clock across the room.
For two reasons. So you don't get distracted by the time or lights during the night. And to force yourself to get out of bed. Make the alarm sound as annoying as possible! Turn the light on or open the blinds immediately after you turn the alarm clock off.
(3) Brush your teeth and use your mouthwash too.
You need to give your body time to wake up so after turning off your alarm clock, go directly to the bathroom sink to brush your teeth and then splash some water on your face.
(4) Drink a full glass of water.
Go into the kitchen and drink a full glass of water.
(5) Get dressed in your workout clothes.
Some people prefer to start their day by jumping in the shower, but I believe we should earn our morning shower by breaking out a sweat first!
(6) Set a timer for your bedroom heater.
Have the heater in your bedroom come on 15-30 minutes before you wake up so you are not tempted to crawl back under the covers to avoid the cold.
THE LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S : SIX PRACTICES TO ACHIEVE YOUR LIFE'S POTENTIAL.
PRACTICE NO.1 : SILENCE
Do you invest time in centring yourself and creating an optimum state of mind to lead you through the rest of the day? Mornings, for most of us, are pretty hectic and rushed. We're usually running around trying to get ready for the day, and our minds are often plagued with internal chatter about what we have to do, where we have to go, who we have to see, what we forgot to do, the fact that we're running late, a recent argument.
Here are some of my favourite activities to choose from and practise during the silence period:
(1) Meditation. Try the Miracle Morning Meditation on page 76-78.
(2) Prayer.
(3) Reflection.
(4) Deep Breathing.
(5) Gratitude.
It's very important you're not in bed for this, and preferably out of the bedroom. The couch is good.
I have everything I need for my Miracle Mornings near the couch. My affirmations, journal, yoga routine and books.
PRACTICE NO.2 : AFFIRMATIONS
"It is the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. Once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen." - Muhammed Ali
When you actively design and write out your affirmations to be in alignment with what you want to accomplish and who you need to be to accomplish it - and commit to repeating them daily (ideally out loud) - they immediately make an impression on your subconscious mind. Your affirmations go to work to transform the way you think and feel so you can overcome your limiting beliefs and behaviours and replace them with those you need to succeed.
Five Simple Steps to Create Your Own Affirmations:
(1) What you really want.
Your affirmation must first articulate exactly what you want your ideal life to be like, in each area.
You can organize your affirmations according to the areas that you most want to focus on improving, such as health/fitness, mindset, emotions, finances, relationships, spirituality, etc. Begin with clarifying, in writing, what you really want - your ideal vision for yourself and your life - in each area.
(2) Why you want it.
Include why, at the deepest level, all of the things you want are important to you. Being crystal clear on your deepest whys will give you an unstoppable purpose.
(3) Who you are committed to being to create it.
Get clear on who you need to be, are committed to being, in order to take your life, business, health, marriage, etc. to the next level and beyond.
(4) What you're committed to doing to attain it.
Which actions will you need to take on a consistent basis to make your vision for your ideal life a reality? Want to lose weight? Your affirmation might say something like : I am 100% committed to going to the gym five days a week and running on the treadmill for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you're a salesperson, your affirmation might read : I'm committed to making 20 prospecting calls every day, from 8am-9am. The more specific your actions are, the better. Be sure to include frequency (how often), quantity (how many), and precise time frames (what times you'll begin and end your activities.
(5) Add inspirational quotes and philosophies.
To maximise productivity, schedule two 3-5 hour blocks (half days) of singularly focused attention on ONE single activity or project, rather than trying to switch tasks every 30 minutes.
Final thoughts on affirmations:
Mindlessly repeating a phrase over and over again, without feeling its truth, will have a minimal impact on you. Try shouting from the rooftops! Stand tall, take deep breaths, make a fist. Combining physical activity with affirmations is a great way to harness the power of the mind-body connection.
Always update your affirmations as you grow and have new goals or philosophies.
Be consistent. Read your affirmations daily.
Visit www.Miraclemorning.com/resources to get help creating and perfecting your affirmations. See a sample of my own personal affirmations. View and download highly effective Miracle Morning affirmations on everything from losing weight, improving your relationships, increasing your energy, developing extraordinary self-confidence, making more money and overcoming depression.
PRACTICE NO.3 : VISUALIZATION
After I've read my affirmations, I sit up on the sofa, close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. For the next five minutes, I simply visualize myself living my ideal day, performing all of my tasks with ease, confidence and enjoyment.
Three simple steps for Miracle Morning visualization
Step 1 : Get ready
Put on some classical (try Bach) music in the background on low volume.
Step 2 : Visualize what you really want
Forget about logic, limits, and being practical for a moment. If you could have anything you really wanted, do anything you wanted, and be anything you wanted - what would you have? What would you do? What would you be?
Visualize your major goals, deepest desires, and most exciting, would-totally-change-my-life-if-I-achieved-them dreams. THING BIG!
Step 3 : Visualize who you need to be and what you need to do
See yourself engaged in the positive actions you'll need to do each day (exercising, studying, working, writing, making calls, sending emails, etc.) and make sure you see yourself enjoying the process. See yourself smiling.
CREATE A VISION BOARD (As seen in The Secret)
A vision board is simply a board on which you post images of what you want to have, who you want to become, what you want to do, where you want to live, etc.
Creating a vision board is a fun activity. It gives you something tangible to focus on during your visualization. For more help, check Christine Kane's blog on "How to make a vision board" as well as a free eBook The Complete Guide to Vision Boards, both available on www.ChristineKane.com
Remember that while looking at your vision board every day may increase your motivation and help you stay focused on your goals, know that only taking the necessary actions will get you real-time results.
PRACTICE NO.4 : EXERCISE
"If you don't make time for exercise, you'll probably have to make time for illness." - Robin Sharma.
"The only exercise most people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, sidestepping responsibility, and pushing their luck." - Unknown.
Morning exercise should be a staple in your daily rituals, whether you go to the gym, go for a walk or run, put on a YouTube video.
Every morning you've got to get your heart rate up and get your blood flowing and fill your lungs with oxygen.
Even if you normally exercise in the afternoons or evenings, you should always do at least 10 minutes of jumping jacks or some sort of aerobic exercise in the morning.
Personally I choose YOGA. To see some videos visit pranashama.com
PRACTICE NO.5 : READING
"A person who won't read has no advantage over someone who can't read" - Mark Twain.
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul. We become the books we read." Matthew Kelly.
Reading is the fast track to transforming any area of your life. It is one of the most immediate methods for acquiring the knowledge, ideas and strategies you need for success.
If you don't read self-help books, you're missing out on the unlimited supply of knowledge, boundless growth, and life-changing ideas you could gain from some of the most brilliant, successful individuals in the world. Who in their right mind would choose not to do that?
PRACTICE NO.6 : SCRIBING
"Whatever it is that you write, putting words on the page is a form of therapy that doesn't cost a dime." - Diana Raab.
Benefits of keeping a daily journal
(1) Gain Clarity : The process of writing something down forces us to think through with enough to understand it. Journaling will give you more clarity, allow you to brainstorm, and help you work through problems.
(2) Capture Ideas : Journaling helps you not only expand your ideas, but also prevents you from losing the important ideas that you may want to act upon in the future.
(3) Review Lessons : It enables you to review all of the lessons you've learned.
(4) Acknowledge Your Progress : It's wonderful to go back and re-read your journal entries from a year ago and see how much progress you've made. It's one of the most empowering, confidence-inspiring and enjoyable experiences. It can't really be duplicated any other way.
Effective Journaling
(1) Choose a Format - Digital or Traditional. It is personal preference, there are no real pros and cons.
(2) Get a Journal : Get a journal that is lined, dated, with room to write for all 365 days of the year.
(3) Decide What you Want to Write : You can wrote about your goals, dreams, plans, family, commitments, lessons learned, and anything else you need to focus on in your life. My journaling method ranges from being a very specific, structured process - listing what I'm grateful for, acknowledging my accomplishments, clarifying what areas I want to improve on, and planning which specific actions I'm committed to taking to improve - to being pretty traditional, just a dated entry with a synopsis of my day. I find both to be very valuable, and it's nice to mix it up.
Customizing the Life S.A.V.E.R.S.
Here is a fairly common 60 minute schedule.
The Miracle Morning (60-minute) sample schedule using the Life S.A.V.E.R.S.
(1) Silence (5 minutes)
(2) Affirmations (5 minutes)
(3) Visualization (5 minutes)
(4) Exercise (20 minutes)
(5) Reading (20 minutes)
(6) Scribing (5 minutes)
The sequence can be customized to your preferences. Some people prefer to do their exercise first, as a way to increase their blood flow and wake themselves up. Some people do their exercise last, that way they can jump into the shower and proceed with the rest of the day.
The six-minute Miracle Morning (real results in six minutes)
"On the one hand, we all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that make us happy. But we don't do those things. Why? Simple. We are too busy. Too busy doing what? Too busy trying to be happy" - Matthew Kelly.
I developed the 'six-minute Miracle Morning' for those days when you're extra busy and pressed for time, as well as for those of you who are so overwhelmed with your life situation right now that just thinking about adding one more thing stresses you out.
(1) Minute One - you spend the first minute sitting quietly, in purposeful silence. Meditate.
(2) Minute Two - Read your daily affirmations from top to bottom.
(3) Minute Three - Close your eyes, or look at your vision board, and you visualize. Visualize the day going perfectly, see yourself enjoying your work, smiling and laughing.
(4) Minute Four - Write down some of the things that you're grateful for, what you're proud of, and the results your committed to creating for that day.
(5) Minute Five - Grab a self-help book and read a page or two.
(6) Minute Six - Move your body. Maybe you run in place, or do a minute of jumping-jacks. Maybe you do push-ups or sit-ups.
Customizing your Miracle Morning:
The miracle morning is 100% customizable!
Wake-up and Start Time
The essence of the Miracle Morning remains that you simply wake up earlier than you normally would - typically by 1 hour. Wake up with purpose and don't take the weekends off!
When to Eat
The bigger the mean, the more food you give your body to digest, the more drained you will feel. With that in mind, I recommend eating after your Miracle Morning routine. This ensures that, for optimum alertness and focus during the Life S.A.V.E.R.S., your blood will be flowing to your brain rather than to your stomach to digest your food.
What to Eat
Drink a full glass of water - first thing in the morning - so you can rehydrate and reenergize after a full night of sleep. Next, I typically start my day by brewing a cup of real coffee. I actually set my alarm 5 minutes earlier each day, to give myself time to make my coffee without intruding on my Miracle Morning time.
I have created The Miracle Morning super-food smoothie. This includes proteins, antioxidants, Omega 3, vitamins and minerals. Not to mention Cacao (stimulating, mood-lifting phytonutrient), Maca (the Andean natural hormone-balancing stress reliever), and Chia seeds (immune-boosting appetite suppressant.)
The Miracle Morning smoother not only provides you with sustained energy, it also tastes great. You might even find that it enhances your ability to create miracles in your everyday life. You can get the recipe for free at www.MiracleMorning.com/resources.
Aligning the Miracle Morning with your goals and dreams
This is useful for those who've been putting off, or haven't been making time for things such as starting a business or writing a book.
For example, when you create your affirmations, make sure they are in alignment with your goals and dreams, and that they clarify what you will need to think, believe and do to achieve them.
During visualization, visualize yourself effortlessly enjoying the process of achieving your goals. Remember to involve all of your senses in your vision and ideal outcomes. Make it vivid.
Overcoming Procrastination : Do the Worst, First
One of the most effective strategies for overcoming habitual procrastination and maximizing your productivity is to start working on your most important - or least enjoyable - tasks, first thing in the morning. The added bonus of doing the hard task first, and getting it out of the way means you create momentum and make the rest of the day more productive and fun.
Keeping your Miracle Morning Fresh
Change up your morning exercise routine every 3 months and remember to update your affirmations as your goals change and to keep your senses stimulated.
THE SECRET TO FORMING HABITS IN 30 DAYS
If you don't control your habits, your habits will control you.
You can change any habit in 30 days, if you have three right strategy. There are 3 ten-day phases to it.
Days 1-10 PHASE ONE : UNBEARABLE
This is pain time! For example, if your new habit is waking up early (which might be a good idea given the theme of this book!), during the first ten days your experience might be something like this :
[The alarm clock sounds] Oh God, it's morning already! I don't want to get up. I'm soooo tired. I need more sleep. Okay just ten more minutes. [Hit snooze button]
The problem for most people is that they don't realize that this seemingly unbearable first ten days is only 'temporary'. They think that this is the way the new habit will always feel, telling themselves : If the new habit is this painful, forget about it - it's not worth it.
As a results, 95% of our society (the mediocre majority) - fail, time and time again, to start exercise routines, to quit smoking, improve their diets, stick to a budget, or any other habit that would improve their quality of life.
If you are aware of the fact that just the first 10 days are unbearable then you can get through it!
Days 11-20 PHASE TWO : UNCOMFORTABLE
Your new habit is no longer unbearable. It might still be uncomfortable though, and will require disciple and commitment on your part, to keep going.
Days 21-30 PHASE THREE : UNSTOPPABLE
The third ten-day phase is crucial to sustaining the new habit, long term. Start to see yourself as someone who lives the habit. Instead of saying I am not a morning person, say I am a morning person. You will now start to see and feel the benefits, and that is the key to creating the new habit.
THE MIRACLE MORNING 30-DAY LIFE TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE
"Do the right thing, not the easy thing" - Brad Britton.
Step 1
Visit www.MiracleMorning.com/resources to download your free 'Miracle Morning 30-Day Life Transformation Challenge Fast Start Kit. Do this right now!
Step 2
Commit to and schedule your first Miracle Morning as soon as possible - ideally tomorrow - and decide where it will take place.
Remember it is recommended that you leave your bedroom and remove yourself from the temptations of your bed altogether. The best place is the sofa or you can do it on your terrace if you have a comfy chair.
Make sure you won't be interrupted.
Step 3
Read the 'Fast Start Kit' then follow the instructions and do the initial exercises therein.
Keep in mind that your Miracle Morning will always start with the preparation you do the day or night before to get yourself ready mentally, emotionally and logistically. This preparation includes the five-step snooze-proof wake-up strategy above.
Step 3.1
Get an accountability partner. Joining forces is more fun!
However do not wait until you get a partner before starting the Miracle Mornings.
If you can't find one in your real life, then find one on our Facebook Page.
An Essential Bonus (The email that will change your life):
"Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing." - Steve Jobs.
I composed an email to people who knew me in different capacities and to varying degrees, explaining that I wanted to grow personally, to be a better friend, son, brother, and colleague, and that the only thing to do was to get feedback from people who could see things about me that I couldn't see about myself. I asked if they would please take a few minutes to reply, at their earliest convenience, sharing what they believed were the three biggest areas that I needed to improve. I asked that they be brutally honest, and assured them that they would not hurt my feelings. In fact, the only thing that would hurt my feelings was for them to hold back, because doing so would only limit my growth.
Let's just say that I gained more self-awareness and grew more in a week from reading those responses than I had grown in the previous five years combined - and possibly my entire life.
The email that will change your life
Problem
Feedback avoidance. Most people don't enjoy negative feedback, so they completely avoid asking for feedback. This prevents them from gaining invaluable data about their strengths and weaknesses, thus preventing them from capitalizing on the former and significantly improving the latter.
Solution
Type the following text into an email (feel free to edit and personalize.) Send it to between five and thirty people (the more the better) who know you well enough to give you an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. This may include friends, family, colleagues, mentors, teacher, former employers or manager, customers, your significant other, and if you're brave enough...wait for it - your ex-significant others. (Seriously.)
Important
Be sure to put the outgoing email addresses in the BCC field of the email, so that each recipient doesn't see everyone else you're sending it to.
Subject Line
This means a lot....Or Would love to get your opinion.
Email Text
Dear friends, family, and colleagues.
Thank you so much for reading this email. This isn't an easy one for me to send, but it is extremely important to me, so I sincerely appreciate you investing your valuable time reading (and hopefully responding to) it.
This email is going out to only a select group of people. Each of you knows me well, and I'm hoping you will give me honest feedback about my strengths and most importantly, my weaknesses (aka 'areas of improvement'.)
I've never done anything like this before, but I feel that for me to grow and improve as a person, I need to get a more accurate picture of how I'm appearing to the people that matter the most to me. In order to become the person I need to be to create the life and contribute to others at the levels that I want, I need your feedback.
So, all I'm asking is that you take just a few minutes to email me back with that you honestly think are my top two/three 'areas of improvement'. If it will make you feel better to also list my top two/three 'strengths' (I'm sure it will make me feel better!) , you are definitely welcome to. That's it. And please don't sugar-coat it or hold anything back. I will not be offended (promise!) by anything that you share and I won't reply 'defending myself'. In fact, the more 'brutally' honest you are, the more leverage it will give me to make positive changes in my life.
Thank you again, and if there is anything I can do to add value to your life, please let me know,
With sincere gratitude,
Edward.
"Love the life you have while you create the life you want."
"Give up the need to be perfect for the opportunity to be authentic. Be who you are. Love who you are. Others will too."
"Upgrade your complaining to gratitude."
"Be grateful for all that you have, accept all that you don't have, and actively create all that you want."
"Life isn't about wishing you were somewhere or someone else. Life is about enjoying where you are, loving who you are, and consistently improving both."
"The moment you accept responsibility for EVERYTHING in your life is the moment you tap into your power to change ANYTHING in your life."
"You have arrived at this moment to learn what you must learn so that you can become the person you need to be to create everything you've ever wanted for your life."
"Even when life is difficult or challenging - especially when life is difficult or challenging - the present is always an opportunity to learn, grown, and become better than we've ever been before."
"Your entire life changes the day you decide that you will no longer accept mediocrity for yourself."
To the real life-life woman of my dreams - Eloise. You are everything that I have ever wanted in a partner, and so many things I never knew I needed, but now could never live without. I still marvel at how perfect you are for me, and I couldn't be more grateful to be creating and sharing our lives together.
AT THE END OF THE YEAR:
Here are your four “Best Year Ever” Questions, followed by a few specific action steps you can take in the next few days that will help you ensure that you implement the value you gain from this exercise:
1. What did I accomplish?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What valuable lessons can I learn from each?
4. What are my “Top 3″ Guidelines the coming year?
Q1 – What did I accomplish?
Unfortunately, most of us find it easier and tend to spend more time and energy dwelling on our failures and disappointments than we do acknowledging our successes and accomplishments. But all of us have both, and dwelling on our failures and what we ‘didn’t get accomplished’ only discourages us and hurts our self-confidence. It is only by acknowledging our accomplishments that we improve our self-image, raise our self-esteem, increase our self-confidence and empower ourselves to accomplish more in the future. The first time I answered this question, and wrote down as many of my accomplishments as I could think of (big ones & small ones) I got to 42, and the perception I had of the first half of my year started to change. I realized that I wasn’t as behind as I had been telling myself I was. I gave myself permission to actually feel good about all that I accomplished. In fact, I even closed my eyes, smiled, and said to myself over and over, “You’re doing great this year, Hal… You’re doing great this year, Hal!” This may sound funny, but it felt so good to simply spend time acknowledging myself for once, for all that I had accomplished! Try it; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Q2 – What were my biggest disappointments?
While it is neither necessary nor particularly healthy to beat ourselves up about our disappointments, it is important and proactive to acknowledge our disappointments so that we can learn from them and let them go. How did we let ourselves or others down last year? What goals did we fail to achieve? What bad habits did we continue? Disappointments are a part of life, and we all have them. As long as we learn from our disappointments, we can use them to help us grow and improve so that we don’t continue to make the in the future. As you review the first six months of the year, what were your biggest disappointments?
Q3 – What valuable lessons can I learn from each?
One lesson I have implemented that continues to empower me to improve every area of my life is to, “Learn something from everything.” When it comes to learning from our ‘accomplishments’ we can take away valuable lessons related to what it was that motivated, inspired, or allowed us to accomplish what we accomplished. As for learning from our disappointments, we can internalize valuable lessons about which thoughts, behaviours, actions, emotions, or habits prompted us to create or to not create that which disappointed us. Usually it is our biggest disappointments that can provide us with our most life-changing lessons.
Q4 – What are my “Top 3″ Success Guidelines for the next 6 months?
One you have acknowledged your accomplishments and your disappointments, and you’ve extracted the most valuable, life-enhancing LESSONS from each, what may benefit you the most is choosing your “Top 3″ guidelines to keep you on track during the coming year. You can simply copy and paste your 3 most empowering lessons, and post these up somewhere that you will look at them everyday to stay focused on that which will make the biggest impact on improving your life this year and beyond. Here are the Top 3 Success Guidelines that I came up with:
1. Focus on one project (or task) at a time and complete it, before moving onto the next.
2. Delegate all tasks that don’t compliment my natural gifts and unique areas of brilliance.
3. Make everything I do FUN and done with unconditional LOVE and authentic GRATITUDE. So, what are your top 3 Success Guidelines for the next 6 months?
Closing Thoughts: Congratulations on completing your first year of documenting your life’s journey in The Miracle Morning JOURNAL. I wish you extraordinary happiness, health, and success in all that you do.
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